Beverly ‘Bev’ Wester

(March 29, 1933 - Jan. 2, 2021)

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Beverly Bev Wester died peacefully in her sleep with her family present at Viewpointe Memory Care in Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021. She was 87.

She was born on March 29, 1933, in Glendive, Montana, to Roy and Irene (Seley) Glasscock. Bev attended Glendive schools and graduated in 1950. She married Jerome Jerry Wester on Sept. 23, 1950, and together they had seven children.

Jerry’s career working with various irrigation projects brought Beverly and their children to Fallon, Worden, Fairfield and Dillon in Montana; Powell, Wyoming; and Williston and McClusky in North Dakota.

Upon Jerry’s and Bev’s retirement, they moved to Billings, Montana. Wherever they moved, Bev became involved in church and school activities, and she made life-long friends. When most of her children had grown, she began a second career as a secretary. She began working for the Sheriff of Sheridan County, North Dakota. Her adult children took delight in the fact that as his secretary, she was also fully deputized, complete with a badge and gun. (She would refer to herself as a Barney Fife-type deputy and joked that she was only issued one bullet, and it — and the gun — were always locked safely away.) Later she worked for an attorney and finished her career working for what is now the Farm Service Association (USDA) in McClusky, a job she enjoyed not only because of her co-workers, but also because she was able to compassionately work with local farmers in tough economic times.

A few months after Jerry passed away in 2013, Bev moved to Viewpointe Independent Living in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to live closer to her growing number of great-grandchildren.

Wherever they lived, their beautiful gardens always produced bountiful vegetables which they happily shared with friends and neighbors. Bev was also artistically talented, creating beautiful pieces of ceramics and Christmas decorations using many different mediums. She turned her artistic talents toward quilting, and created detailed wall hangings, making designs using just her sewing machine.

By far, Bev’s real calling was in caregiving. Both in her daughter’s, Karen’s, hospitalization and rehabilitation for Guillain-barre syndrome in 1979, and again when Karen was diagnosed with cancer later in life, Bev was diligent in researching the best ways to give the best care. It should be noted her diligent research happened before Google made information so readily accessible.

We marveled at her tender care combined with dogged research abilities. When Jerry was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, she again used her computer research on how to best help, tenderly caring for him, even when he lived in a memory care facility, until his death.

Bev was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, sons Bradley and infant John; daughter, Karen Pollock; grandson, Philip Wester; and all of her siblings, Wilford, Pearl, Irene and Darrell.

She is survived by sons, Gary (Marge), Tom, Chuck (Karla); daughter Peggy (Rod) Bremer; 12 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Cremation has taken place. A funeral service will take place at a later date in Billings, followed by a rite of committal at Crown Hill Cemetery in Powell. Mountain View Mortuary is assisting with arrangements and remembrances may be shared at https://tinyurl.com/y4tmqtvn. Memorials may be sent in her name to the organization of your choice.

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